Adjustable house dress



May 10, 1949. M. 1.. HARRIS ADJUSTABLE HOUSE DRESS Fild Jan. 2, 1947 3 SheetsSheet 1 Inventor May 10, 1949. M. L. HARRIS I ADJUSTABLE HOUSE DRESS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2, 1947 In uentor Margaret L. Harris May 10, 1949. M. L..HARRlS ADJUSTABLE HOUSE DRESS 3 Sheet -s 3 Filed Jan. 2, 1

Inventor M rgaret L. Harris X5: By

My Attorney Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE HQUSE DRESS Margaret L. Harris, Hamilton, Mont.

Application January 2, 1947, Serial No. 719,775

(Cl. 2'l6) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved house dress made from a blank consisting of a single piece of material, so that it can be quickly and cheaply manufactured and for which a very Simple pattern can be used.

An object of the invention is to provide a gar ment of the above kind which is readily adjustable in length, and also in girth from the shoulders to a point well below the waist line, whereby the garment is readily adaptable to fit persons of different sizes or a person who is subject to physiological changes or development.

A more specific object is to provide improved means for manually adjusting the garment as to length and girth.

The exact nature of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the garment as worn;

Figure 2 is an inside view of the garment in spread-out condition;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken through the lower front portion of the garment, on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, taken on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken through the lower front portion of the garment, on line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a perspective sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 1, and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, taken on the line 'I'l of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the present garment is made from a symmetrical blank consisting of a single elongated piece of material and folded mid-way between its ends on the transverse line a to provide the back member 5 and the front member 6 of the garment each of which members includes integral waist and skirt portions and is slightly flared toward its outer end to give proper shape and fullness to the skirt of the garment. The blank has a central opening I of a size to permit passage of the head therethrough in donning the garment. A longitudinal slot 8 is provided in the blank so as to extend downwardly from the opening I mid-way between the sides of the latter and at the front of the garment, to permit adjustment of said opening I. Draw strings 9 are provided for use in adjustably constricting the opening 1 and slot 3, the desired adjustment being retained by tying the strings 9 together into a bow as at H]. The

adjacent side edges of the members 5 and 6 are separably connected together, preferably by means of ties H which are arranged in pairs and tied together into bows I2.

The lower portions of the member 5 and 6 are turned inwardly and upwardly to form wide hems 13 secured by lines of stitching at spaced intervals through both layers of the material, as at M. The layers may be left unconnected as at l5, between the lines of stitching l4, by extending the stitches only through the inner layer as at I6. In order to adjust the garment as to length, the inner layer of the hem i3 is provided with an upward fold or tuck I1, and means is provided to adjust the depth of this fold or tuck and thereby increase or decrease the depth of the hem in a way to lengthen or shorten the garment. Ihe adjusting means for the fold or tuck I1 preferably consists of adjusting strings I8 attached at intervals to the top of said fold or tuck as at 19 and extending upwardly through the spaces at i5 between the inner and outer layers of the hem l3, and then slidably extended through the material of the garment as at 20, at spaced adjacent points, a knotted piece of string 2! being tied about and frictionally engaging each string l8 between said points to hold the latter in adjusted positions. Thus, by pulling the strings l8 upwardly through the knotted pieces of string 2|, the garment may be shortened, and by pulling said strings l8 downwardly therethrough the garment may be lengthened.

In order to adjust the garment as to width or girth, it is provided with a pair of external opposed plaits 22 and 23 that extend upwardly near each side of the members 5 and 6 from well below the waist line to and across the shoulders, and means is provided to adjust the inner portions of each pair of said plaits toward or from each other. The latter adjusting means preferably consists of a plurality of adjusting strings 24 attached at intervals to the inner portion of the plait 22 of each pair as at 25 and then slidably extended through the inner portion of the plait 23 of said pair as at 25, a knotted piece of string 21 being tied about and frictionally engaging each string 2 after passing through the plait 23 at 26. Thus, by pulling the strings 24 or desired ones thereof in one direction, the desired portion or portions of the garment may be increased in width or girth from well below the waist line to and across the shoulders, and by pulling said strings 24 in the opposite direction, the width or girth may be decreased. In some cases, it is desirable or necessary to attain a greater reduction in girth at the waist line than is practical or possible by means of the strings 24. For this purpose, the opposite ends of external loops 28 are attached to the garment at the waist line and beyond opposite sides of each pair of plaits 22 and 23, the central portion of each loop having a knotted piece of string 30 tied about and frictionally engaging the same. Thus, by pulling the central portions of the'loops 28 outwardly through the knotted pieces of string 30, the waist line of the garment may be further reduced.

From the above, it Will be apparent that I have provided a very simple form of garment which may be readily and quickly adjusted as described. Minor changes are contemplated, such as fairly fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A house dress including a skirt having its lower portion turned inwardly and upwardly to form a widehemcomposed of inner and outer layers, spaced lines of stitching securing said layers together at the .topof the inner layer, said inner layer having an upward fold that extends upwardly between .the layers of the hem, and manually operable .means attached to said fold and extending upwardly between said lines of stitching and said layers to adjust the depth of said fold tov lengthen or shorten the dress.

2. A house dress: including a skirt having its lower portion turned-inwardly and upwardly to '4 form a Wide hem composed of inner and outer layers, spaced lines of stitching securing said layers together at the top of the inner layer, said inner layer having an upward fold, and manually operable means to adjust the depth of said fold to lengthen or shorten the dress, said means comprising adjusting strings attached at intervals to the top of said fold and extending upwardly between saidlines of stitching and said layers and then slidably extended through the skirt above the hem, and a knotted piece of string tied about and frictionally engaging each adjusting string at a point after the latter passes inwardly through the skirt.

MARGARET L. HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 222,262 Felt Dec. 2, 1879 884,185 Mayper Apr. 7, 1908 1,307,553 Ketch June 24, 1919 1,309,487 Reeser et al July 8, 1919 1,761,886 Haspel June 3, 1930 2,244,583 Turner et al June 3, 1941 2,272,017 Mahoney Feb. 3, 1942 

